Former 2nd Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Crabbe, has alleged that the party employed the same strategy it used against him and other party executives to remove former Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson Charlotte Osei.
Crabbe drew parallels between his suspension in 2015, alongside Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyapong, and the removal of Charlotte Osei in 2018 under then-President Nana Akufo-Addo. He maintained that in both cases, the party orchestrated petitions that appeared independent but were part of a broader agenda.
“The same method they used to remove Afoko, Kwabena Agyapong, myself and those other officers of the party was the same playbook they used to remove Charlotte Osei”
Sammy Crabbe, Former 2nd Vice Chairman of the NPP
In October 2015, Paul Afoko, who was then the party’s National Chairman, was indefinitely suspended. This was followed in December by the suspension of General Secretary Kwabena Agyapong and 2nd Vice Chairman Sammy Crabbe.
The suspensions stemmed from petitions accusing the executives of breaching the party’s constitution and undermining its decisions. Crabbe, in particular, was accused of disagreeing with Afoko’s suspension and refusing to appear before the party’s Disciplinary Committee.
Reflecting on the period, Crabbe explained that the petitions were deliberately initiated by party insiders but presented as coming from independent sources. He described the entire process as a coordinated effort to dismantle the security of tenure that came with his elected position.
“They caused some people to write a petition and say I don’t know anything about it, I’m just a President, meanwhile it went to the Council of State and they practically appointed all of them. And they will say I don’t know anything about it. I used the process. It is a façade. It is the same thing”
Sammy Crabbe, Former 2nd Vice Chairman of the NPP
Charlotte Osei’s Removal
On June 28, 2018, Charlotte Osei was removed from office as Chairperson of the EC following recommendations from a committee set up by the Chief Justice. The process began after concerned staff of the Commission filed a petition in July 2017 alleging misconduct and incompetence.
Crabbe said the similarities with his case were clear, arguing that Osei’s security of tenure as EC Chairperson was targeted in the same way that elected executives of the NPP were stripped of theirs.
“So they played it out within the NPP and people, including those from the media helped them and they succeeded. And remember, when they went after Charlotte Osei they were going after security of tenure (just like in my case). But they had practiced it within the NPP that ‘we can bust security of tenures’ and so they went after Charlotte Osei”
Sammy Crabbe, Former 2nd Vice Chairman of the NPP
Talking about his refusal to appear before the party’s Disciplinary Committee during his suspension process, Crabbe defended his decision by describing the body as lacking legitimacy.
“Why should I appear? The disciplinary committee is an inferior body to an elected officer. It is made up of people who are unelected. The constitution does not give them the power to suspend or remove me”
Sammy Crabbe, Former 2nd Vice Chairman of the NPP
He further argued that the petition against him demanded his removal from office, a decision he believed could not be determined by the party’s disciplinary body.
Crabbe’s remarks reignited debate about the NPP’s internal politics and the events that shaped both the party’s leadership struggles in 2015 and the removal of the Electoral Commission Chairperson in 2018.
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